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Alexa Middleton a force in the middle for Abington Friends

The first time that Abington Friends girls' basketball coach Jeff Bond saw Alexa Middleton play, she was in eighth grade at Immaculate Heart of Mary School.

Abington Friends senior Alexa Middleton, center, battles for rebounding position against Westtown players including Naomi Jimenez, right, during a game on Feb. 9, 2016.
Abington Friends senior Alexa Middleton, center, battles for rebounding position against Westtown players including Naomi Jimenez, right, during a game on Feb. 9, 2016.Read more( CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer )

The first time that Abington Friends girls' basketball coach Jeff Bond saw Alexa Middleton play, she was in eighth grade at Immaculate Heart of Mary School.

She had played the sport for only a year, having picked it up in seventh grade after being a gymnast and cheerleader. But she also had always been tall - the tallest girl in every one of her classes growing up.

In middle school, Middleton decided to try something new, something that, unlike cheerleading, could "take me places." So, even though she never really even watched the sport, she picked up a basketball and started playing.

Back then, she was just a big kid who hadn't developed, but used her height to her advantage. Bond, the coach of the Kangaroos for five seasons, said that when he saw Middleton play for the first time, she would just "run down the court and stand on the block."

Middleton remembers the day Bond came and saw her, too.

"It was actually one of my bad games," said the senior, who is averaging a double-double for her career. "But he saw something in me."

He sure did. It has been paying off for Abington Friends (19-6) ever since.

"She just works," Bond said. "She does whatever you ask her to do. She just wants to do the right thing to help her team win. She doesn't care if she scores. She's the type of kid you want leading your program."

As a freshman, the Monmouth recruit's focus was on rebounding, as she knew that was the best way for her to help her team. It was something that always came naturally to her, even though her hands were not as soft as they are now.

"They were horrible," Middleton says. "I couldn't catch a ball for my life."

That has all changed for the center. Along with good hands came versatility on offense and a formidable presence on defense.

"Now she can step out and shoot. She can make mid-range jumpers," Bond said. "I don't think she yet knows how good she can be because she's always been this interior player."

At 6-foot-2, Middleton is imposing on the court, averaging 12.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game this season. No longer the "stick" she was when she was in ninth grade, the Roxborough native has worked on her strength and power to become a physically impressive post down low. The physicality with which she plays is apparent.

"I get knocked around everywhere, but I'm used to it," Middleton said. "Bumps and bruises and scratches - you don't even know where it comes from - but you are fighting under there.

"I'm tall. I'm big. My team depends on me for that. It is something that I have to do and I love doing it."

Little by little, year by year, Middleton has transformed herself, and AFS in the process. On Friday, the Kangaroos open play in the Independent Schools state tournament when they host Agnes Irwin.

Throughout that game, Middleton will undoubtedly be a big part of the offense, looking to get the ball however she can and crashing the boards when someone's shot is off the mark. But she'll be doing other stuff too, like leading and encouraging - blocking a shot or two.

She is no longer the girl who runs down the court and sets up shop on the block, the one who waits for the ball to come to her. She's so much more than that.